Bunbury-Busselton player Brayden Lawler fends off an attack by players from Manjimup-Leschenault including Manjimup resident Mitchell Muir.

18th March 2009

Fans that arrived early to the recent NAB Challenge match in Bunbury were given a glimpse of the next generation of football stars in action.

Members of the South West Academy of Sport’s football squads played a curtain raiser before the game between Fremantle and Carlton on Saturday March 14.

The showcase of talent provided good exposure for the athletes, who combined to form two teams – Bunbury-Busselton and Manjimup-Leschenault.

South West Academy of Sport chief executive Bernice Butlion said the day presented a great opportunity for the young football players.

“They were able to show their skills in front of a large crowd and big names of the game like Chris Judd and Matthew Pavlich,” she said.

The hard fought match between the academy’s football squads – won by Bunbury-Busselton – warmed up the crowd before the Dockers scored a 43-point win over Carlton.

The main game attracted about 10,000 people to Hands Memorial Oval and was the first time in more than 10 years that Bunbury had hosted an AFL match.

John O’Dea, Brad Fraser and Sinan Kerimofski coached Bunbury-Busselton, which comprised of Jackson Arbon, Areef Walker, Sam Harris, Lachlan Micale, Mitchell Fraser, Jacob Smith, Kaileb Bastow, Brayden Lawler, Mike Galliers, Josh Dunn, Liam Bourke, Will O’Dea, Jesse Cummings, Jason Fish, Brandon Hughes, Joel Avery, Dylan Ness, Alex Mezger, Jacob Kosicki, Cameron Seale and Joel Dowson.

Wayne Barnden and Graham Jeffery coached Manjimup-Leschenault, which was made up of Sam Moyes, Mark Manea, James Gaudion, Ben Farquhar, Mitchell Muir, Jed Doy, Lachi Udy, Nathan Douch, Riley Hutchinson, Damien Culverwell, Mitchell Raynsford, Declan Jackson, Greg Parry, Matthew Chernabaeff, Kadogen Combes, Joel Jackson, Phillip Lee, Daniel Sherman, Joel Holmes, Mitchell Homes, Patrick Leary, Axel Vernon, Luke Dale and Jacob Perry.

....ENDS